Crabs

[Kieron1]

I wanna keep some crabs in my tank.

What are there requirements and what do they eat? How big do they grow?
Are they a pest in your tank and will they dig my plants up?

 

[jkrekord]

it depends what type of crab however i think all crabs are likely to kill your fish

 

[EFCLad]

I wanna keep some crabs in my tank.

What are there requirements and what do they eat? How big do they grow?
Are they a pest in your tank and will they dig my plants up?

[snapback]921942[/snapback]​

Crabs can normally get quite big, most crabs like somewhere dry to go from what I can remember and you MUST HAVE A HOOD on your tank otherwise your wasting money on crabs as they are ace at escaping. I really would not say yes to a crab and other fish to be honest as a mate has a fish (not bottom feeders) and it still attacks them so be careful. You cant keep em with catfish etc

 

[kat and james]

sorry guys but i have to disagree .. i've got a red clawed crab, she is only an inch across, and a little bigger if you count her legs aswell. we have no problems with her attacking the other fish, they don't bother her and she doesn't bother them, if they do go near her, she just waves a claw around, and the sudden movement scares the fish away.

she has claimed a small hole in a peice of bogwood as her own, but sometimes the others claim the hole for themselves, but there is never any argument over the hole, if someone else is in it, then she tends to go for a wander around the tank.

when we bought her she was missing a leg, which she has now grown back, she layed eggs which were stored in a funny hatch in the region of her butt, and she even molted her skin recently!! she's pretty awesome!

she climbs up the heater and sits on the powerhead, which is where we put her food, it is by hikari, and called crab cuisine, which contains calcium which is vital for her survival, as it contains calcium which hardens her shell. they do need somewhere to get out of the water! and you will need to make sure your tank is secure, we've had no escape attempts yet (had her for at least 6 months now) *touch wood*

you may have problems if the bottom of your tank isn't all that big.. ie like my other tank which is 11gal.. deep but not very wide.. but the tank the crab is in is 4ft in lenght and 1ft across, so there is plenty of room on the bottom for her to roam around. and we even keep clown loach and a pictus catfish in there with her. no problem!!

some ppl may have troubles, maybe i have just been lucky, but i love my crabby and i would be so upset if anything happened to her! i'm gonna buy her a boyfriend when i get the new tank set up!!

 

[OohFeeshy]

we have no problems with her attacking the other fish, they don't bother her and she doesn't bother them, if they do go near her, she just waves a claw around, and the sudden movement scares the fish away.

she climbs up the heater and sits on the powerhead, which is where we put her food, it is by hikari, and called crab cuisine, which contains calcium which is vital for her survival, as it contains calcium which hardens her shell. they do need somewhere to get out of the water! and you will need to make sure your tank is secure, we've had no escape attempts yet (had her for at least 6 months now) *touch wood*and we even keep clown loach and a pictus catfish in there with her. no problem!!

maybe i have just been lucky

[snapback]922035[/snapback]​

Yup, lucky. The crab is still pretty small, all it takes is one sleeping fish not to notice and

 

[jarcher1390]

it depends what type of crab however i think all crabs are likely to kill your fish

[snapback]921955[/snapback]​

well ive got 4 red claw crabs and they dont bother my fish

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Crabs do not bother fish at all. I had a fiddler crab (MIA for about week now) and she never bothered the fish. MY kribs I used to have would try to eat her legs off though.

 

[rdd1952]

Crabs, crawfish, lobsters and even giant shrimp and prawns will all eventually kill and eat fish. It's what comes natural for them. When they are small, you won't have a problem. But once they get to be 3" or larger, they will catch and kill small fish, especially when the lights go off, they get active and the fish get slow and unattentive.

she just waves a claw around, and the sudden movement scares the fish away

Later on when she gets bigger, it will be more than a wave. They will be scared all right but won't be able to do anything about it.

 

[andywg]

Basically, with crabs and lobsters and the like, they will either be big enough to catch and eat your fish, or if they stay too small for that then your fish will likely decide to eat the crustacean at some point. Middle grounds are rare and hard to come by.

Best kept to a species tank. As someone said, they have been lucky, but only for 6 months, Most of these creatures live for years, it only takes one night for it to end in tears.

 

[CFC]

I have tried to keep both crabs and giant prawns with fish and on both occasions fish have ended up on the menu (crabs ate a pair of Appistogramma and the prawn ate a dozen corys and a expensive pim) until the crustacean was placed with much larger fish and they then ended up the menu.
Basicly it doesnt work and for those that have had success so far, good luck to you but i hope you dont have any fish your attached to.